Reread Again
by Gratia Donatus
Summary: When Mo, Dustfinger and Farid vanish before Meggies eyes she seeks answers and finds a new reader who is determined to rule both the Inkworld and ours. He is holding all the cards but one. Now it's up to Meggie.
1. Chapter 1

Dustfinger sat alone in the cell that had been prepared for him

Dustfinger sat alone in the cell that had been prepared for him. He had no idea how he had gotten here or even where here was. He knew he wasn't in the Inkworld; he had been read out of the Inkworld yet again. How long would it take him to get back this time? He would not spend another ten years in this place. Dustfinger started pulling at the shackles around his wrists again. It hurt if he kept pulling he would rub them raw. The chains were attached to the wall behind him so high up that his hands were suspended above him. Thoughts assaulted Dustfinger.

_The boy. Where was the boy? Had he been plucked from the story as easily as Dustfinger himself_? _Or was he still there in the Inkworld with Meggie and Silvertounge? For they certainly weren't here…hopefully._

Dustfinger felt any little hope he had left starting to leave him. The cell was dark almost pitch black; there were no windows and they, his captors, wouldn't light the torches or let him anywhere near fire. The only light came from jar full of bugs buzzing around nosily in there small prison.

"We're both prisoners here." Dustfinger said; he knew the bugs couldn't understand him but it felt like the right thing to say. Dustfinger needed fire; his only hope lay in the depths of his pocket. A small box with four matches; he would save them for just what Dustfinger couldn't say. Maybe just maybe they could help him escape. Maybe.

_And then what Dustfinger;_ that annoying little voice called reason piped up. Why did it always have to come out?

"I'll think of something." He said aloud.

Meggie stared at the place where it had happened. The place where her world had been thrown into turmoil once again. Dustfinger and Farid had been performing just outside Umbra; Basta had appeared out of nowhere and of course he had his knife. Isn't that the way it always works right when your at peace and happy something happens to destroy it. today, however that thing wouldn't be Basta's knife or Dustfinger's fire. Meggie screamed "Watch out!" and then they were gone, leaving behind nothing but the faint smell of smaoke in the air. All three of them Basta, Dustfinger, but worst of all Farid; gone in an instant. Tears flooded Meggie's eyes but she held them back, what good had tears ever done anyone. Meggie ran to get her father and Resa at the little apartment they had been staying in.

"MO!" Meggie called when she arrived in the room; no one was there.

_Mabey they went out._ Meggie thought, then she noticed her fathers tools on the table. Mo never left his tools lying around. In that instant Meggie knew, her father was gone. now the taers came so power ful that Meggie could not have stopped them even if she tried. The girl sank to her knees and buried her face in her hands.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm stil trying to get the hang of this so sorry if I'm doing it wrong. I know my last chapter was really short and I'm sorry, but this one should be a bit longer.**

**Kale Ride**

* * *

Mo, Meggie had lost Mo again; why did this always happen to her?

_What about Resa?_A voice inside her said, Meggie looked up and searched her surroundings more carefully. Over in the corner she spotted it; Meggie's heart panged as she remembered many a night where Resa had read to her in that corner. They area looked like a fight had taken place there. Resa's books were strewn across the floor. Pages had been ripped from some and on those pages Meggie saw boot prints. If Meggie's mother hadn't been read away then she had been taken away. Meggie could only think of one person who would do this, Mortola, the woman called the magpie.

Meggie didn't know if Mortola had anything to do with this or not; she didn't know if she would ever see those she loved again. Mo, Resa, Dustfinger, Farid, she had lost them all and was now alone, completely alone. Meggie began to cry again this time there was no stopping it; she cried for her parents, she cried for Dustfinger, she cried for Farid. Meggie cried until she had not a tear left to cry. The sun was setting, she needed to get going. Meggie stood up and looked for the means of writing a note; paper, quill, and ink. Meggie found all of these say the quill; she crouched down and opened the ink. Then using a stand of her own golden hair she painstakingly wrote a letter just in case she was wrong and left it on her father's pillow. She would need money and so looked under the loose floor board that Mo had thought was a good hiding spot for the little gold they had. Underneath the floor board was a small leather pouch on a leather thong Meggie placed it around her neck and replaced the floor board. There wasn't much Meggie would have to earn more money somehow and she knew of one way that she could do this. So she grabbed a blanket, a book, and her little marble notebook placed them in a leather bag and headed of to join the Motley Folk.

* * *

Aero looked down at the single sheet resting on his lap. The words he had written, torn up and rewritten several times. It had taken Aero almost a year before he even dared reading it aloud. Today was the day he would try. His mouth was suddenly dry, his hands sweaty, and his heart hammering against his ribs. Aero knew reading aloud was just like trying to enter a freezing pool. The best way to go about it was to plunge in before you could think too much about what you were about to do. Taking a deep breath Aero braced himself and plunged into speech. Aero read his voice powerful and yet calm, each word seemed to linger in the air before entering the listeners ear; who, in this case were his henchmen. He read until he heard several "clunks" and looked up, four people lie unconscious before him. _YES!!_ he thought, he had done it! Wait, no, something was wrong; Aero stood up from his chair and went to survey his catch. He saw the boy, the fire eater, the Blue-jay and...the girl. Where was the girl? Aero had four men at his feet, the fourth shouldn't be here, it should be the girl. His plans would fail unless he had the girl.

Aerolooked down on the man he had coaxed out of the Inkworld. The man had a thin face and a knife in his hand, Basta. This was an unexpected setback but not necissarly a problem. Basta hated those Aero had read here; Basta would have no trouble hurting any of them if it came to that. Aero still had the problem of the girl he must catch here and he would. it was only a matter of how long it took him to write the words.

"Take the boy, the fire eater and the reader to their cells." Aero said to the men who had knocked new arrivals out. "Leave the one with the knife here."

They would help him achieve domination or they would watch each other die. Aero pulled his nte book off the chair and set to work on the girl's story.

* * *

**Well thats it for now. Please review flames allowed.**

**Kale Ride**


End file.
